constitutes Islam according to us,” then the implications mentioned above follow: fasting for one day would be Islam, giving a dirham in charity would be Islam, and so forth.

They say, “Every believer is a Muslim, but not every Muslim is a believer.” They explain: “This is so when speaking in general terms. In detail, however, the matter is as we have stated: faith is one component of Islam and religion, not the entirety of Islam and religion. Islam means submission to Allah through every act of obedience performed in accordance with His command. Faith is the greatest component of Islam. The designation ‘Islam’ encompasses every act of obedience through which a servant submits to Allah, including faith, affirmation of the truth, other obligatory duties, and voluntary acts. However, one cannot validly draw near to Allah through acts of obedience other than faith without first having faith.”

They say, “The word dīn (religion) is derived from tadayyun (religious devotion), and its meaning is close to that of Islam.”

The response to them is: If this is your position, then your statement, “Every believer is a Muslim, but not every Muslim is a believer,” contradicts it. For a Muslim is someone who obeys Allah, and no one’s obedience is valid without faith. It is therefore impossible for anyone to perform any act belonging to Islam without being a believer, even if it is the least of all acts of obedience. Thus, every Muslim must be a believer, whether Islam means performing all acts of obedience or just one of them, since none of this is valid without faith. The verse is therefore evidence against you, not in your favor.

Furthermore, regarding your statement, “Every believer is a Muslim”: if by faith you mean only the heart’s affirmation of the truth, it follows that a man would be a Muslim even if he neither uttered the two testimonies of faith nor performed any